Unfortunately, nobody at my gaming club plays Karchev doggies. I say unfortunately because you need to practice against this list, it's currently the best in the game. If you think you don't need to practice against it, think again. You're wrong. Luckily for me one of my regular opponents agreed to proxy it today so I could get a game in.
:: Lists ::
Cygnar:
Major Victoria Haley - WJ: +25
- Squire - PC: 5
- Stormwall - PC: 39 (Battlegroup Points Used: 25)
- Lightning Pod
- Thorn - PC: 13
- Ironclad - PC: 12
Journeyman Warcaster - PC: 4
- Firefly - PC: 8
Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress - PC: 3
Ragman - PC: 4
Storm Lances - Leader & 2 Grunts: 12
Opponent:
:: Pre-Battle Thoughts & Deployment ::
The scenario was Outlast and I won the roll-off. A lot of this matchup hinges on relative positioning and having Haley start to pressure the scenario ASAP. Because of this I kind of think it's best for me to go second so I chose to go first to get the hardest possible challenge.
:: Game ::
I've learned from previous games that what I want to have happen in this matchup is to have Thorn and Ironclad on the flank of the Stormwall and slowly just wrap around basically. The middle is typically held by the Firefly and the opposite flank by the Lances. I deployed accordingly but I made one major mistake: I chose the wrong flank. I didn't realize this T1 despite my opponent's deployment screaming "I will shift left!". Again, practice is so important.
Doggies run up in a staggered formation.
My mistake becomes apparent. I try and look for angles to take out one or two doggies on the left flank without feating but I simply can't find any. The doggies on the right flank are basically my main problem. They are too numerous to be ignored and without feating they present sort of a credible threat.
Eventually I decide not only to feat but to shift right. It is of the utmost importance that I keep Karchev and Ruin away for as long as possible. By going right I make it significantly harder for him to keep these models relevant. The Ironclad is left in the left zone with Thorn taking the middle. I fear this will be a clusterfuck I can't effectively attrition out of since both Thorn and Ironclad will be unable to help out the way I'm used to needing them. In any case the damage wrought on the right flank is significant and it's not half bad. The Ironclad unfortunately rolls a snake eyes for one of its attack and this sees the doggie over there survive on 1 box.
Fort Karchev is created and doggies slowly converge around him. The ones remaining on the right flank do their best to jam.
Fort Karchev is impenetrable but it provides a unique opportunity: A Time Bomb there effectively buys me an entire turn. Awesome! I go for the Time bomb play and this also allows me to keep Thorn in the center as a buffer of sorts. That might actually work out rather well. I run the Ironclad away because I need it intact late game. Lances, Firefly and Stormwall clear the zone and I move to 2-0.
Karchev moves towards me but Time Bomb sure helps.
The idea is to keep Karchev away and have Thorn deal with Ruin. I also need to clear the zone, of course. I start with Haley and TK Karchev away. I then TK Thorn and use Reaction Drive to get to Ruin, making sure there are no counter charge angles. The Firefly and Stormwall clears out Mad Dogs with a little help from Thorn (who opted to simply disrupt Ruin and not do much else). I finish off my turn with running pieces to contest if needed and have the Lances screen the Stormwall. 4-2.
Attrition- and scenariowise the game is effectively over. Karchev's one remaining play is to see if he can somehow clock me. I've spent a -ton- of time taking care to avoid all angles and correct my rather poor start. I'm down to 7 minutes and he gets no less than 3 doggies in my zone. Karchev feats to clear the Lances and kill Thorn, a move which would otherwise typically have cost him the game.
Haley TKs out the 2 dogs on the Stormwall's left flank and said Stormwall kills the last dog.
:: Evaluation ::
Oh Karchev that list is so, so brutal. I love playing against it, really challenging. This game revealed the dangers of not reading the map nor deployment properly.
I do feel as though Karchev himself could've played more aggressively under my feat. Assuming I cannot knock Karchev down, he has pretty ridiculous survivability against the Stormwall. I ran the numbers on Odds Machine and if I somehow get both Ragman and Lanyssa in and I have Temporal Acceleration on the Stormwall I have roughly a 3% chance to kill him. If you add in a TK it sure helps but it's still a rather low chance. He is just so tanky. I wonder how the game would've played out if he had instead simply advanced towards me and kept his jacks ahead of him. A lot of what I was able to do in this game came as a result of the Time Bomb play which effectively bought me a turn of clearing dogs.
One thing is for sure: Haley needs to pressure the scenario angle. The Pit is probably her best scenario in this matchup, as with so many other matchups she has, but it's perfectly viable to go for the flag/zone/whatever in most of the other scenarios as well.
A good game and a much needed re-run against this list. I wonder what January's errata will do to Karchev and the doggies. Until then, I'll continue enjoying the challenge and considering myself lucky seeing as I play one of the few factions which this list doesn't simply steamroll.
(Karchev 1) Karchev the Terrible [+30]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Mad Dog [7]
- Ruin [17]
Gobber Tinker [2]
Gobber Tinker [2]
The scenario was Outlast and I won the roll-off. A lot of this matchup hinges on relative positioning and having Haley start to pressure the scenario ASAP. Because of this I kind of think it's best for me to go second so I chose to go first to get the hardest possible challenge.
:: Game ::
I've learned from previous games that what I want to have happen in this matchup is to have Thorn and Ironclad on the flank of the Stormwall and slowly just wrap around basically. The middle is typically held by the Firefly and the opposite flank by the Lances. I deployed accordingly but I made one major mistake: I chose the wrong flank. I didn't realize this T1 despite my opponent's deployment screaming "I will shift left!". Again, practice is so important.
Doggies run up in a staggered formation.
My mistake becomes apparent. I try and look for angles to take out one or two doggies on the left flank without feating but I simply can't find any. The doggies on the right flank are basically my main problem. They are too numerous to be ignored and without feating they present sort of a credible threat.
Eventually I decide not only to feat but to shift right. It is of the utmost importance that I keep Karchev and Ruin away for as long as possible. By going right I make it significantly harder for him to keep these models relevant. The Ironclad is left in the left zone with Thorn taking the middle. I fear this will be a clusterfuck I can't effectively attrition out of since both Thorn and Ironclad will be unable to help out the way I'm used to needing them. In any case the damage wrought on the right flank is significant and it's not half bad. The Ironclad unfortunately rolls a snake eyes for one of its attack and this sees the doggie over there survive on 1 box.
Fort Karchev is created and doggies slowly converge around him. The ones remaining on the right flank do their best to jam.
Fort Karchev is impenetrable but it provides a unique opportunity: A Time Bomb there effectively buys me an entire turn. Awesome! I go for the Time bomb play and this also allows me to keep Thorn in the center as a buffer of sorts. That might actually work out rather well. I run the Ironclad away because I need it intact late game. Lances, Firefly and Stormwall clear the zone and I move to 2-0.
Karchev moves towards me but Time Bomb sure helps.
The idea is to keep Karchev away and have Thorn deal with Ruin. I also need to clear the zone, of course. I start with Haley and TK Karchev away. I then TK Thorn and use Reaction Drive to get to Ruin, making sure there are no counter charge angles. The Firefly and Stormwall clears out Mad Dogs with a little help from Thorn (who opted to simply disrupt Ruin and not do much else). I finish off my turn with running pieces to contest if needed and have the Lances screen the Stormwall. 4-2.
Attrition- and scenariowise the game is effectively over. Karchev's one remaining play is to see if he can somehow clock me. I've spent a -ton- of time taking care to avoid all angles and correct my rather poor start. I'm down to 7 minutes and he gets no less than 3 doggies in my zone. Karchev feats to clear the Lances and kill Thorn, a move which would otherwise typically have cost him the game.
Haley TKs out the 2 dogs on the Stormwall's left flank and said Stormwall kills the last dog.
Victory to the Swans!
:: Evaluation ::
Oh Karchev that list is so, so brutal. I love playing against it, really challenging. This game revealed the dangers of not reading the map nor deployment properly.
I do feel as though Karchev himself could've played more aggressively under my feat. Assuming I cannot knock Karchev down, he has pretty ridiculous survivability against the Stormwall. I ran the numbers on Odds Machine and if I somehow get both Ragman and Lanyssa in and I have Temporal Acceleration on the Stormwall I have roughly a 3% chance to kill him. If you add in a TK it sure helps but it's still a rather low chance. He is just so tanky. I wonder how the game would've played out if he had instead simply advanced towards me and kept his jacks ahead of him. A lot of what I was able to do in this game came as a result of the Time Bomb play which effectively bought me a turn of clearing dogs.
One thing is for sure: Haley needs to pressure the scenario angle. The Pit is probably her best scenario in this matchup, as with so many other matchups she has, but it's perfectly viable to go for the flag/zone/whatever in most of the other scenarios as well.
A good game and a much needed re-run against this list. I wonder what January's errata will do to Karchev and the doggies. Until then, I'll continue enjoying the challenge and considering myself lucky seeing as I play one of the few factions which this list doesn't simply steamroll.
That is impressive play, Jarle! I have to try this matchup out myself. Who is piloting the doggies?
SvarSlett